The Capitola Historical Museum, closed by the COVID-19 pandemic for a year, will reopen May 1, with an exhibition titled “Capitola Then & Now.”
Remember the Capitola Theater?
“It’s a fun topic,” said Museum Curator Frank Perry. “Visitors can see how Capitola has changed by comparing historic photos with recent ones taken from the same locations.”
Some are locations where once familiar landmarks no longer exist, such as the theater and ballroom. One of the most amazing is a photograph of Opal Cliffs when there was nothing but cow pastures.
Visitors will find displays on two local families: The Nutters and the Pawlas. In the early 1900s, Olley Nutter had an apple-drying business at the corner of Capitola Avenue and Hill Street. Edith Pawla and her daughter, Emily, had a nursery on Wharf Road where they specialized in violets.
There is also a display on the history of the telephone in Capitola from 1880 to the present.
Hours at the museum, 422 Capitola Ave., Capitola, are noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with the current exhibit running through December.
For information, call 831-464-0322 or visit the museum’s website: capitolamuseum.org.
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Top Photo: Frank Perry puts the finishing touches on the 2021 exhibit at the Capitola Historical Museum.
Dancing at the Capitola Ballroom, which brought in Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton, was a hot ticket for 80 cents.